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In May, the International Olympic Committee announced that Adam Nelson ’97, the silver medalist in the shot put at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, would be given the gold medal in the event. On June 23, during a ceremony at the U.S. Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, Nelson accepted his gold medal, reports ESPN via the Associated Press.

“Better late than never,” Nelson tells the AP. “The way I look at it is I’ve got the rest of my life to be the gold medalist.” After receiving his medal, Nelson took a victory lap around the stadium with his two daughters, the article notes. “It’s been great because I’ve been able to share the experience with my family,“ says Nelson.

The original gold-medal winner in the event, Yuriy Bilonog of Ukraine, was stripped of the medal in December 2012 for using performance-enhancing drugs, according to the AP.

”It does pay to do it the right way,“ Nelson tells the AP. ”It may not pay right away, but over the long term, you’ve always got your integrity, and eventually it will pay off.“

Nelson still holds the Dartmouth shot put record and was the 1997 NCAA champion in the event.

Read the full story, published 6/23/13 by ESPN via the Associated Press.